Blow to Indian shooters as Kuwait event stripped of Olympic status

Lausanne: The Asian Shooting Championship lost its Olympics qualifying status after tournament hosts Kuwait banned an Israeli official from taking part.

The International Olympic Committee executive board said it had revoked the qualification status of the November 1-12 event following a request from the International Sports Shooting Federation (ISSF).

Kuwait had denied a visa to Israeli Yair Davidovich who was due to supervise the event.

"The denial of a visa is against the non-discrimination principle of the Olympic Charter," said an IOC statement.

Another reason for yesterday's decision is the fact that the Kuwait National Olympic Committee is currently suspended by the IOC due to government interference.

Over 100 shooters and officials from India were in Kuwait to prepare for the tournament that was scheduled to take place from November 2.

Though the shooters were expected to arrive in the country on November 1, the Indian team reached early to acclimatize to the conditions.

The Indian contingent was hoping to grab at least five of these quota places, in addition to the eight that have been already secured.

"We have been preparing for this tournament since a long time since it was the last chance to book a berth for Rio Games.

If it is rescheduled, it will have a domino effect as we have the national championships in December and the Olympic selection trials after that. It puts the whole calender in turmoil," a shooter told the Indian Express.

(With Agency inputs)